Once in a Lifetime
by Kairi-san
Summary: Chi loves Hideki and Hideki loves Chi, but Chi is a persocom, not a human. This worries her uncontrollably. Until one day she finds a cherry blossom across her heart, which changes her life forever! Chi/Hideki…implied one-sided ?/Chi COMPLETE!
1. Cherry Blossom

A/N: Hello, all! This is Kairi-san again! I humbly apologize for ignoring my fans for three long years! I had my life to live and it got hectic, heh. Well, this is my newest fic, "Once in a Lifetime," a Chobits fanfiction! Please forgive me for any OOCness, I do not actually own the manga at this time, not that I do not plan for that to change some time soon. I know that Chi has no sense of touch as a persocom in the manga, but for my story she has a limited sense of touch as a persocom. Please forgive my taking liberties. Rated T for later chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in this fanfic… not even my mystery character. CLAMP owns Chobits and well, someone else owns the other character, but I can't give that way now (it would ruin my plot line!)

Summary: Chi loves Hideki and Hideki loves Chi, but Chi is a persocom, not a human. This worries her uncontrollably. Until one day she finds a cherry blossom across her heart, which changes her life forever! Chi/Hideki…implied Chi/?

Without further ado, Chapter 1!

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Chapter 1: Cherry Blossom

The night was long and dark in Tokyo. Two figures could be seen laying on a futon inside a high-rise apartment downtown. One was obviously a human male in long-sleeved pajamas, sleeping soundly. The other was a female persocom with ivory hair in a pink frilly nightgown who was fidgeting in her apparent sleep.

"Hideki…." she moaned in her sleep, "Chi cannot be human…"

With that, she turned in her sleep and cuddled with her lover, seeking comfort in his warmth. During the day this worried her. She could feel his warmth, but he could never do the same with her… she was not made like that. She was made of a special kind of plastic and metal and a few wires and such. No warmth could emit from that, only coldness. She was soon fast asleep.

A bright light flashed briefly in the room. Following the light, a figure whose shadow looked like a teenager appeared. He/she stepped into the moonlight just barely and smiled at the sleeping couple. The figure thought to itself for a moment and whipped something out of its clothing.

"Hmm…"it said hurriedly.

Suddenly, Chi turned right side up in her sleep, still clutching Hideki's hand gently. The figure smiled again and made up its mind. Pulling its hand out gently, it placed the thing on top of the sleeping persocom. Another bright light flashed and the couple was alone again.

All that remained of their night visitor was a single, pink cherry blossom…

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A/N: Well, that's the first chapter! I'm sorry that is so short, but it was supposed to be like a prologue! Please read and review! By the way, if I make/made any mistakes, please tell me so! Until next time… Kairi.


	2. The Morning After

A/N: Hello again, all! Kairi-san here again with an update to the story. Sorry about the wait, I had other more important things to deal with. I apologize for any OOCness. I know that Chi has no sense of touch as a persocom in the manga, but for my story she has a limited sense of touch as a persocom. Please forgive my taking liberties. Rated T for later chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Chobits, CLAMP does.

Without further ado, Chapter 2!

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Chapter 2: The Morning After

Several hours later, dawn broke out over Tokyo and business was already flourishing. Cars ran by in a hurry. Honking was the music of the morning. Honing in on a certain apartment, an alarm blared in Hideki's ears. Groaning, he rolled over to turn it off only to notice that Chi was holding his hand in her sleep. He smiled and reached to turn the alarm off. The alarm stopped, he got out of bed. Glancing back at Chi, he decided to let her sleep a little while longer. She had seemed worried about something recently, sleep would help her get over it.

Quietly, he walked into his living room. The laptops were still asleep for now. Hideki sighed, at least he would not have to endure Sumomo's exercises and Kotoko's sarcastic remarks for a while yet. He liked them, but they got annoying after a while. Only Chi was not affected by their antics.

Turning the light on, Hideki stretched out his muscles. Everything was as they left it the night before. The futon had been moved into couch-position. A blanket was draped over one side of the futon. A DVD was sticking out of its player. Hideki noticed that the television had been turned off. He did not remember turning it off, but he must have. Satisfied that nothing had been disturbed, he moved into the kitchen. The kitchen was spotless as Chi liked it that way. He had decided to make breakfast this morning to surprise Chi. He may not be a good cook, but he would do anything for love. Chi shouldn't have to worry so much. Searching the cabinets, he realized he would have to get groceries soon.

Looking into the refrigerator, he pulled out a carton of eggs and various other items to make tamagoyaki. Grabbing an omelet pan and a bamboo mat, he got set to cook. Fifteen minutes and many messes later, he finally managed to get the egg rolls cooking on the stove. That was where his luck ran out. He heard a squeal from the living room.

"Master Hideki! Sumomo is awake! Time for Master's exercises!" Sumomo yelled.

Hideki groaned. Putting the burner on low, he went to the living room to face the inevitable. There he found Sumomo jumping up and down energetically from her place on the coffee table next to the futon. She had woken Kotoko up by now. The other laptop glared at the energetic one. They both looked up at him as he entered.

Still glaring, Kotoko walked away in the direction of the kitchen. Master Hideki had come from there, so it must be quiet in there. More importantly, it was away from the bratty, energetic persocom known as Sumomo. They may have been the same size, but they were as different as night and day. Once there, Kotoko saw the stove was on and immediately made it her job to watch the apparatus on the stove.

Back in the living room, Sumomo looked into Hideki's eyes. Still jumping, she put Hideki to work doing jumping jacks. He complained and tried to get out of it, saying that he had food on the stove, but Sumomo ignored his complaints as usual. Chi had still not woken up which worried him. He needed not worry for long.

In the bedroom, Chi woke up. She flexed each of her man-made joints to make sure they were all still working. Moving her head slightly, she noticed the flower on her chest and smiled. Hideki must really love her to place a flower on her chest while she was asleep. Putting the blossom on the nightstand next to the alarm clock, she got out of bed. Walking to the door, she heard groaning and Sumomo's commandeering from the other side. She must have slept for longer than usual. She was usually up before the laptops were.

Satisfied and eager, she hurriedly got dressed in one of her frilly dresses. Taking another look across the room, she decided that she should flaunt the blossom on her person. It was a symbol of love after all. Placing the flower in her hair, she walked out into the living room.

"Hideki! Chi is awake!" she announced to the entire apartment.

In-between groans, Hideki smiled. Temporarily distracted, Sumomo decided that Hideki was fit enough to stop her morning exercises for the day. He practically ran to Chi's side. Nothing else mattered at the moment but Chi. He took her hand in his and kissed it gently.

"I am glad, Chi. I love you," he said in reply.

Chi smiled. "Chi loves Hideki more! Chi wants to repay Hideki for his present!" She bent her head down to show him the flower in her hair.

Finally noticing the flower, Hideki was puzzled. He did not know where the blossom had come from, but it certainly was not from him. A pang of jealousy hit him uncontrollably. Before he could tell Chi otherwise, Kotoko yelled from the kitchen.

"Master! The food on the stove is now black!" Kotoko announced.

Alarmed, Hideki and the other two persocoms ran to the kitchen. Kotoko was jumping up and down next to the stove, crying out in alarm. Dismayed, Hideki turned off the stove and put the now-burned tamagoyaki in the wastebasket. So much for making breakfast himself, he thought. A forlorn look on his face, he turned to Chi. She turned her head in amused worry.

"Hideki must not worry! Chi will make breakfast to repay Hideki!" she said in reaction. She turned to the cabinets to get to work.

Still dismayed, Hideki went to his room to get dressed. The laptops both shook their heads. This day was turning out to be more unusual by the minute.

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A/N: Well, there's Chapter 2. It would have been longer, but my Dachshunds have been begging to go out for the last 30 minutes, but I wanted to get this out beforehand. Please read and review!


	3. Chaos Ensues

A/N: Hello again, all! Kairi-san here again with an update to the story. Sorry about the wait, my laptop stopped working, so I'm currently using my mom's rented laptop. I apologize for any OOCness. I know that Chi has no sense of touch as a persocom in the manga, but for my story she has a limited sense of touch as a persocom. Please forgive my taking liberties. Rated T for later chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Chobits, CLAMP does.

Without further ado, Chapter 3!

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Chapter 3: Chaos Ensues

The day continued as usual as it could be with the outcome of the morning. Hideki had returned from getting dressed to find that all three persocoms were, surprisingly, finishing making their version of his ruined tamagoyaki. He half-smiled in reaction to his presumed breakfast. Chi knew how to make a bad thing better. He was sure that Kotoko had looked up the recipe for her as the egg roll-like dish was not Hideki's usual choice of meals. Sniffing the air, his stomach growled. He sat down at his breakfast table as Chi set his plate down in front of him.

"Thank you, Chi. It looks delicious," Hideki appraised truthfully, careful not to voice his dismay at his earlier failure. He tried not to look at the cherry blossom in Chi's hair as he looked up at her face as she was blushing as only a persocom could.

"Chi! Chi is most welcome that Hideki has thanked Chi! Chi is glad!" Chi exclaimed, blushing.

Hideki smiled his perverted smile as Chi reached over his plate to kiss him quite unprovactively. He kissed her back before his thoughts got so perverse that he made the biggest mistake of his life. She was a persocom for goodness sake! He may love her, but taking it THAT far would end it all for them both. He came to his senses when he realized that his food was getting cold and gestured for Chi to sit down next to him which she complied in kind.

Smiling, Hideki cleared his throat and began eating his breakfast. Chi just sat there ogling what he was doing with both love and jealousy. If only she could enjoy the meal as he did! Kotoko had described how the dish should taste as they were making it, but words were not enough for her. She longed to feel, taste, and smell as her love did. Oh, to be human! It was the only thing that she wished for that she had yet to receive, though it was seemingly impossible. The Chobits series was as close to human as a persocom could get.

Sumomo and Kotoko watched from the kitchen in confused awe. Shaking her head, Sumomo memorized Chi's facial expressions which were different than they had ever been before. Kotoko took no notice of Chi and simply watched Hideki eat, glad that their accomplishment was a success. She made a note to help Chi make breakfast more often. It had surprising results.

Glancing at his watch, Hideki hurriedly finished his breakfast. He was almost late for his college midterm week! Chi cocked her head as Hideki gave her a rushed goodbye kiss and left the apartment without another word to any of the persocoms. Chi sighed as she cleaned up after him. It irked her that she had made him late, but he was normally close to being late anyway. The laptops scurrying over to help her reminded her that Mr. Ueda was expecting her at the pastry shop today. Saying a quick but kind goodbye to her smaller counterparts, she exited the apartment herself, locking the door behind her.

As she walked down the hall toward the stairs, she unconsciously ran into Ms. Hibiya, her "mother" of sorts. This startled the older woman who stopped in midstride to her office on the first floor and smiled. Chi responded in kind after getting over her momentary embarassment at her intrusion.

"Ms. Hibiya! Chi apologizes for Chi's intrusion! Chi did not pay attention to Chi's walking!" Chi hastily said after stopping herself.

"That's okay, Chi. I could tell you have a lot on your mind. Is everything okay with Hideki? Sumomo? Kotoko?" Ms. Hibiya inquired after looking at Chi's reaction to her mistake.

"Chi! Hideki is okay. Sumomo is okay. Kotoko is okay. Chi is just daydreaming," she replied and continued on her way after mentioning that Mr. Ueda was expecting her at the pastry shop.

Chi rushed ahead of her "mother" as Ms. Hibiya waved a goodbye to her and followed her at a fair distance as to not seem rude. The older woman could tell that Chi had something on her mind and intended to find out as non-intrusively as possible. Once they had both descended the stairs, they went their separate ways, Ms. Hibiya down the hall and Chi out the door to the sidewalk and down the street toward the pastry shop.

Chi regained her senses as soon as she entered the pastry shop, or rather as she _attempted_ to enter the shop. The shop was so busy today that the line of customers could be seen from down the street. Chaos had ensued after Mr. Ueda had opened the shop and was continuing before Chi's eyes. She had barely made it into the shop as Mr. Ueda was yelling at her in confused surprise.

"Miss Chi! Please get back here before these customers give me a heart attack!"

Displaying misplaced worry, Chi ran to get on her apron and man the counter. This was one morning she was glad she was a computer. She took orders faster than Mr. Ueda could make them. Three hours and several disgruntled customers later, business was finally slowing down. The last order of the chaos-ridden line taken and being made, Chi found herself a chair and sat down in it, exhausted. Mr. Ueda gave her a quick glance and delivered the pastry to the customer himself.

Chi roused herself fifteen minutes later to find Mr. Ueda sitting next to her, his jaw dropped in awe by the look of her. Confused, she looked around the room and saw all the customers who were still there had the same expression as the chef did. She touched her employer's shoulder to get his attention. She asked him what the looks were all about and he simply handed her a mirror. She held the mirror with both of her hands and was shocked by her reflection...

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A/N: Well, there's Chapter 3! I hope you liked it and I thank those who reviewed so far. More reviews are appreciated and loved! Until next time, Kairi.


	4. Reflections

A/N: Hello again, all! Kairi-san here again with an update to the story. Sorry about the wait, I had school and laptop problems again, plus writer's block. I apologize for any OOCness. I know that Chi has no sense of touch as a persocom in the manga, but for my story she has a limited sense of touch as a persocom. Please forgive my taking liberties. Rated T for later chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Chobits, CLAMP does.

Without further ado, Chapter 4!

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Chapter 4: Reflections

Chi looked in the mirror and almost fainted—or as close to fainting as a computer could—at what she saw. The mirror reflected back at her a girl with strikingly black hair, human-looking ears, and a face that looked like it had had a face-lift or two. Her face was the spitting image of the stereotypical "perfect" Japanese female face. In short, she no longer recognized herself nor did anyone else for that matter. It was as if she had been touched by a god in fifteen minutes' time and transformed into a human, on the outside at least. As far as she knew, her insides were still electronic.

Once she had gotten over her shock, she put the mirror down and glanced around the room again. Some of the customers had left, but of those remaining, all were still staring at her, jaw-dropped. Many had moved closer to her table to get a better look. Getting back to the task at hand, she looked at Mr. Ueda in askance.

"Chi?" she asked, cocking her transformed head. "What has happened to Chi, Mr. Ueda?"

Mr. Ueda smiled and turned his head to her. Chi had always been a persocom of mysterious wonder, but this was the jackpot of all her mysteries. Nothing he believed could change her looks so fast. This was something worth investigating.

"Chi, your guess is as good as mine. One minute you were unconscious in your chair, the next, a light flashed and you looked like that," he answered. "Are you okay?"

Chi thought about it for a moment. It was much like the cherry blossom this morning. Where had either come from? Were they connected? The only thing she was certain of was that neither was natural. As far as she could tell she still was functioning normally, albeit with a different face.

"Chi is okay, but Chi is surprised. Is Mr. Ueda sure that was what happened to Chi?" she answered.

"It is not something I could forget, Chi," Mr. Ueda replied.

Looking around the shop, the shop owner realized that both of them needed to get back to work. The lunch crowd had started arriving and had heard about what had happened not half an hour earlier. The lunch-line was staring just as intently at Chi as the customers eating had. He cleared his throat and motioned for Chi to follow, which she promptly did. Business would not wait for her.

Once the shock had died down, business continued as any other normal day. By the time it was time for Chi to leave and her replacement to get there, business had slowed as usual and Chi's face had become old news as far as the pastry shop was concerned. Other than a few onlookers as she left, Chi's walk home was uneventful.

Chi unlocked the apartment door with her key and proceeded though the door into the apartment. As usual, Kotoko and Sumomo were waiting by the door for her return. She closed the door and locked it back. Walking into the living room, she sat down on the futon, exhausted. The laptops stalked her to her seat.

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert! INTRUDER ALERT!" both laptops screamed in her face.

Chi looked around frantically. An intruder? Where? She looked back at the door and found it exactly as she left it. There was no sign of an intruder that she could see. Were Kotoko and Sumomo malfunctioning?

As the tiny persocoms continued their screeching, Chi looked at the clock. It was about time for Hideki to get home. Perhaps he would find the intruder, she had not. Hearing the door open, she stood up to…

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A/N: Well, there's Chapter 4 finally! Another cliffhanger, I know, but I promise not to keep you waiting this time! Oh, and the story will get faster next time! The changes I made to Chi's appearance will not all be permanent, I promise you. I hope you liked it and please keep the reviews coming! Thank you very much! Until next time, Kairi-san.


	5. Surprises

A/N: Hello again, all! Kairi-san here again with an update to the story. I apologize for any OOCness. I know that Chi has no sense of touch as a persocom in the manga, but for my story she has a limited sense of touch as a persocom. Please forgive my taking liberties. Rated T for later chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Chobits, CLAMP does.

Without further ado, Chapter 5!

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Chapter 5: Surprises

Chitose Hibiya was walking up the stairs of the apartment building she managed when she heard screeching in the direction of the second floor hallway. Alarmed and prepared to call the police if need be, she got off the stairs at the second floor landing and walked briskly toward the screeching. She stopped in front of the apartment rented by Hideki Motosuwa and his persocom, her former "daughter," Chi. The screeching was revealed to be an intruder alarm uttered by, seemingly, Hideki's mobile persocoms, Kotoko and Sumomo. Taking out her master key, she unlocked and slowly opened the door to the apartment, her cell phone in hand.

Upon entering the apartment, she was surprised by what she saw. She walked into the living room and could not believe what she was seeing. Kotoko and Sumomo were holding hands as they screeched "Intruder alert!" at the same frequency. They were yelling at a black-haired person with a perfect face who had stood up in alarm upon the landlady's entrance. She looked at Chitose in confusion, as if she did not realize what was going on in the apartment and that she was the intruder the small persocoms were alarmed about. Looking at Kotoko and Sumomo, Ms. Hibiya got down to business.

"Kotoko! Sumomo! What has happened here?" Chitose asked the two persocoms.

Sumomo was the first of the two mobile units to realize that their alert had been responded to. Taking her eyes away from the "intruder," she focused on the landlady, Chitose Hibiya. She had been asked a question that needed answered. She motioned to Kotoko to keep an eye on the strange person in the living room and turned her full attention on the responder.

"Manager Hibiya, neither Kotoko nor Sumomo knows who this person is! She just barged in like she owns this apartment! Sumomo is afraid of what that means! The alert was issued immediately, manager," she replied.

Chitose sighed. No wonder the laptops were alarmed and confused, she was too. She looked again at the intruder. She had remained in the same position as before, her posture lady-like as ever. It made her seem not human in some way. She continued her investigation into the matter.

"Thank you for the information, Sumomo. I would prefer not to involve the authorities unless necessary," the manager informed the persocom. "Now, miss, who are you and what are you doing here?" She turned toward the intruder.

Chi jerked out of her present reverie at that question. Ms. Hibiya did not know who Chi was? Chi was still Chi, why did Ms. Hibiya not realize that? She looked down at Kotoko, who was watching her intently with her ever-serious face. She glanced back up at Chitose, even more confused. Chitose Hibiya was looking at her like SHE was the intruder.

"Chi? Ms. Hibiya does not recognize Chi?" Chi asked in confusion.

Chitose Hibiya dropped her jaw in surprise. She was awestruck. Was this girl really Elda, who now called herself Chi? She looked nothing like the persocom who her late husband had created for the landlady as a second "daughter" and sister to Freya, the first Chobit, whose memories Chi now had stored on her hard drive. Only the sound of her voice was the same, but Chitose knew that some persocoms had the ability to imitate the voices of other persocoms, though; this girl was human, wasn't she? Only time would tell.

"Well, Chi is a persocom, you look human. It may have been a while since I was involved with building persocoms, but I know for a fact that persocoms have their interfaces in their ears, and your ears look nothing like a persocom's ears," Chitose answered. "You cannot be Chi, miss. At least, not the Chi I know."

"Chi is Chi! What must Chi do to prove that Chi is Chi?" the persocom exclaimed, perplexed.

The apartment manager could think of only one thing that this "Chi" could do to prove herself, but was it fair to ask her to do that? What if she really was not Chi, the persocom, but a human with the same mannerisms and name? It was unlikely, but the possibility was there. Chitose Hibiya did not know every woman in Tokyo, she could not. It was the looks on the mobile persocoms' faces that made her decision for her. They had looks of serious desperation and hope.

"There is one thing you could do, miss…" Ms. Hibiya replied.

Chi raised her eyebrows in inquiry. Whatever needed to be done, she would do as enthusiastically as possible. No matter what, she hoped.

"Chi will do anything Ms. Hibiya wants Chi to do! What must Chi do?" Chi asked the older woman.

Chitose Hibiya walked over to the front door and locked the door. The last thing any of them needed was a peeping tom. She motioned for the laptops to give them some privacy. She walked over in front of the strange woman.

"I must ask you to strip down so I might examine you. I know a lot about Chi's inner workings, so my examination should prove the truth," she replied.

"Chi? Why would that prove Chi is Chi, Ms. Hibiya?" Chi asked innocently.

Chitose sighed. This girl was as innocent as the real Chi. Could it be?

"Chi is special "down there", miss," Ms. Hibiya stated.

Chi nodded and proceeded to do as Ms. Hibiya wanted. She was still as confused as ever, but she WOULD prove who she was. She started with her dress, unlacing it and slipping it over her head. She stepped out of her shoes next, then her stockings. When only her brassiere and underwear remained, she stopped, embarrassed. That should be enough, wasn't it? Chi was not one of Hideki's yummies.

Once the girl was stripped sufficiently, Chitose began her examination. She looked the girl over initially. She seemed like any other person, if a bit curvier than the average woman. Ms. Hibiya ran her hands along the girl's collar bone, feeling the bones along her shoulders and arms. Nothing she felt seemed artificial as a persocom's would be. Her skin felt like human skin, not the elastic silicone plastic skin that all persocoms had. Her breasts felt full with taut nipples, not the plastic breast-shaped blobs of female persocoms. Her breathing was that of a human's, not the mechanical humming associated with all computers of the age. Her stomach rose and fell with each breath, certainly not something associated with being artificial. The girl's legs were also that of a human. After all of her examinations, there was only one thing left that would prove whether or not this girl was Chi.

Ms. Hibiya asked the girl to remove her underwear. Chi complied in embarrassment, as confused and innocent as ever. She stood up in only her brassiere, her posture slightly shaking. The landlady got down on her knees, seemingly to do the impossible. Neither of them had heard the front door open and shut quietly. The new arrival had proceeded to the living room to see the two of them in a compromising situation.

"Ms. Hibiya, WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO CHI? Are you the reason she looks different?" Hideki exclaimed in alarm, fighting to keep his thoughts as pure as possible.

Hideki had entered the apartment to Sumomo and Kotoko cowering near the front door. Once he had entered completely, the two quietly told him that Ms. Hibiya was in the living room with a girl saying she was his love, Chi. He had no doubt that she was telling the truth. Chi had never lied and, as far as he knew, was incapable of lying. If the girl said she was Chi, then she was Chi. What he had not been told of was that she looked different. She looked human! He loved her no matter what she looked like, but apparently no one else recognized her. How she had gotten that way needed some investigation, but they would get down to it together, not apart. He never wanted to be away from Chi more than necessary.

What he had not thought of was what Ms. Hibiya would do to make Chi prove herself. To make her embarrass herself just to prove she was who she said she was. Hideki was appalled! He should be the only one allowed to check there! He was Chi's "person just for me!" He would stop this straight off.

Chitose stood up in alarm. She had forgotten that Hideki was still not there and was due any minute. He had the week off during midterms, she should have known. He would interrupt anything he saw as improper toward Chi. When he had come, he did just that. Her face was a face of embarrassment and awkwardness. Chi reciprocated that face, still only in her brassiere.

"Hideki… I'm sorry. I did not think this girl could be Chi. She looks so different! I did what I thought was necessary," she replied. "I have no idea how she got this way."

Chi stared intently at Hideki, seemingly unaware that they were talking about her like she was not in the room. Hideki was home, finally! Chi was glad, so glad that she forgot that she was mostly naked. She ran into his arms and he accepted her awkwardly. She went to kiss him and he turned her down for the moment. She was confused. Hideki did not love her this way? She frowned.

"Chi? Hideki does not love Chi this way?" Chi asked in confusion.

Hideki looked down at the girl in his arms. He loved her, but she did not realize how tempting she was right now! Changes or no changes, he would not risk the possibility that she had changed in the most important spot as well! If she hadn't, it would be the end of all of this! He would not risk losing his Chi. He repositioned her in his arms so that she was looking straight into his eyes full of love.

"Chi, I will never stop loving you, but you need put your clothes back on," he said to her.

Chi looked down at herself in embarrassment. Of course, he would care about how she was clothed, or the lack of it. She nodded and picked up her clothes hastily. She ran toward the bathroom as quickly as possible. She had allowed herself to become like Hideki's yummies! She was ashamed.

When Chi was out of sight, Hideki turned toward Ms. Hibiya. She was still standing in the spot he had found her in upon entering the room, as still as ice. She glanced in the direction Chi had gone in amazement and then back at Hideki. She opened her mouth to say something when Hideki stopped her.

"Ms. Hibiya… I forgive you for questioning Chi's identity, but was that really necessary?" he asked before she could get a word out of her mouth.

"I should have thought that you would know as soon as you saw her, but I needed reassurance," she replied. "I should have recognized my own daughter, I realize, but I did not. She appears human in all ways but one and I am not sure about that one. Her skin is real human skin, she has real bones. I would not be so surprised to find out that she is fully human now. What I want to know is how."

Hideki's eyes widened in surprise. Chi was now a human? Did that mean what he thought it meant? Could he really…? It demanded further thought. He would not ask that of Chi unless he was fully certain he would not lose her in the process. Surprises were abounding today apparently. First, there was the mysterious cherry blossom this morning that Chi was certain came from him but did not. Then, there was the chaos at the pastry shop Chi worked at (he had heard about that in passing as he left school this afternoon.) Now, this confounding conundrum irked his mind. How or why any of it had happened was as much a mystery to him as it was to Ms. Hibiya.

"I have no idea either, Ms. Hibiya. I guess we take it one day at a time. We will find out eventually, I suppose," he said in turn. "We should ask Chi when she returns."

Ms. Hibiya nodded and turned toward the direction Chi had gone. Hideki did the same with a smile. Not five minutes later, Chi returned to the living room, fully dressed and her now-black hair combed back to be presentable. When asked, Chi simply repeated what Mr. Ueda had told her this morning. This bright light business just confused them more. When asked to run a search, Kotoko came up with no significant matches. She said most had to do with miracles thirty years earlier, but others also had no apparent useful explanations. Further investigation would be needed, of course. Chi agreed to be on the lookout for any other changes in herself, then they went back to normalcy.

Three weeks passed without further incident or changes to Chi. After midterm week, Hideki had went back to work as normal, leaving Chi alone at the apartment for about four hours after she left the pastry shop. Customers had embraced the change in the persocom-turned-semi-human Chi without much difficulty. Several hairstylists in the line had even said that with her hair she could be a model. Chi politely refused the offers, saying that she loved working at the pastry shop. It was not until one evening after work that she noticed something odd.

She had gone to the bathroom after noticing wetness in her underwear. She had asked Kotoko a week earlier what a bathroom was properly used for, so she thought she would use it as such if she could. It was not until now that such attempts had been a success. What she saw when she examined her underwear horrified her. She would have to ask Hideki when he came home. All she knew was that her semi-humanness was progressing as if it was a disease. She left the bathroom after washing her hands, marveling at the fact that the water actually FELT good running through her fingers and did not harm her in any way. Yes, definitely like a disease.

She then went to the kitchen to begin preparing Hideki's dinner. He would be home before it was finished unfortunately, but Hideki did not mind watching her cook. He had even made it a romantic event on occasion, caressing her as she handled the stove and lightly kissing her neck. She always blushed and smiled, though it distracted her temporarily. Oh, how she loved Hideki! Changes or no changes, she wanted to live forever with him. Once she had gotten everything ready and on the stove, she heard a strange noise and then nothing.

Hideki came home fifteen minutes later to the smell of burning food. Kotoko and Sumomo had heard him enter and came running, screaming for him to follow them, which he promptly did. When they got back to the kitchen, he immediately went into panic mode. What he saw had made him so. The stove was turned off, thank goodness—Kotoko had noticed the blackened food and turned off the stove—but nothing else had changed. He looked down from the stove at the floor and was horrified. He hurried over.

"Chi!" Hideki exclaimed.

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A/N: Well, there's Chapter 5, my longest chapter in all my history of writing fanfictions! Woot! Yay me! I hope you liked it and I encourage you to vote on my profile poll, it will have a significant effect on this fanfiction. Thank you for the reviews and I ask that they keep coming please. Until next time, Kairi.


	6. Repercussions

A/N: Hello again, all! Kairi-san here again with an update to the story. I apologize for any OOCness. I know that Chi has no sense of touch as a persocom in the manga, but for my story she has a limited sense of touch as a persocom. Please forgive my taking liberties. Rated T for later chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Chobits, CLAMP does.

Without further ado, Chapter 6!

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Chapter 6: Repercussions

Hideki had found Chi unconscious in front of the stove. Without thinking, he ran over to where she was. He sat down next to her in a panic. How had Chi gotten this way? She was supposed to tell him about any new changes to herself! Why she had not did not matter right now. What mattered was that she survived. He picked her up in his arms and laid her across his lap, hoping that if she woke up—not if, when!—he would be the first person she saw. It was not until he repositioned her in his arms that he realized how serious the situation was.

He had lifted her up a few inches so that her head was resting against his shoulders. Such lifting had required that he touch the area between her thighs, marveling at the feel of her skin between her thighs. It would always surprise him that she was real. Once the job was done, he fought to keep from taking advantage of her. When he brought his hand up to join his other hand that was holding her head up, he did a double-take. There was blood on his hand! Further panicked, he did the first thing that occurred to him.

"Kotoko! Sumomo! Call an ambulance!" Hideki yelled to the mobile persocoms.

From their perches by the stove, Kotoko and Sumomo looked at each other in askance. Since Hideki had not specified which one of them, they ran to the edge of the counter to see what was wrong. When they saw the blood on Hideki's hand and Chi unconscious, they knew this was serious business. Seriousness was Kotoko's domain. As such, it was decided between them that Kotoko would make the call.

"Calling…" Kotoko intoned, a dialing noise emitting from her sound card.

In his sense of panic, Hideki did not notice anything besides the unconscious Chi in his lap. When the paramedics arrived—Kotoko and Sumomo must have told them the information they needed—they had to pry Chi loose from him with force to put her on the gurney. He mechanically walked behind the paramedics to join her in the ambulance. Only once they arrived at the hospital did he regain awareness.

He was separated from Chi once they reached the threshold of the emergency room. Chi was pushed toward the examination room while Hideki was led to the waiting room. Now that he thought about it, he did not know what had happened to Kotoko and Sumomo. He hoped they had not been stolen in the frenzy that must have resulted from the paramedics' arrival at the apartment. With any luck, they would have gone straight to Ms. Hibiya when they realized they could not go with Chi and him in the ambulance.

He spent one hour in the waiting room before he got any information on Chi's condition. The doctor had opened the door to the waiting room and motioned for him to follow. Hideki complied after washing his hands—he still had Chi's blood on his hand. He followed the doctor to a hospital room where the physician stopped in front of the door.

"Hideki Motosuwa, I presume?" the doctor asked him.

Hideki looked straight into the doctor's eyes and nodded.

"Yes…" he stammered in confusion. "What has happened to Chi?"

The doctor sighed. "Your Chi is a medical mystery. She is the first persocom ever known to have become human. Whatever or whoever caused that to happen did not think it through sufficiently, I think," the physician answered.

Hideki shot the doctor a look of alarm. Was Chi dying? If she died, he would die soon after, that was how heartbroken he would be.

"What… do… you… mean?" he asked slowly.

The doctor cleared his throat. "It seems that she was only meant to become human on the outside. She was originally given real skin, hair, and a human brain so that her hair and skin would not die, leaving her a carcass of machinery. Whoever or whatever caused that did not realize the effect being semi-human would do to her. The human brain is not made to control a computer as complex as I understand Chi was. So it slowly changed her into a real human being, as our scans show happening. The more human she became, the more energy she required. Originally, her body used the electricity she had needed as a machine to provide energy to transform her machinery into real human organs, but eventually even that ran out. So her newly-made digestive system began functioning. How I understand it, Chi did not know about that, which means she did not eat as she should have. Her mistake caught up with her this evening," the professional explained.

Hideki thought about this for a moment. The doctor's explanation made sense. Chi had not said anything because she was not aware of it happening herself. She had not had normal human functions to deal with, or so she believed. What none of them knew was how or who or what was responsible. He hoped they would find out soon. Then a thought came to him.

"What about the blood, Doctor?" he asked.

The doctor smiled, somewhat embarrassed and tried to depersonalize the situation. "Mr. Motosuwa, that is completely normal for a young woman her age. She is seventeen, correct?"

Now Hideki understood. He uncomfortably admitted to himself that somehow Chi's new body knew how old it should be and had modified itself accordingly. He would have to ask Chitose Hibiya to take Chi on a special "mother/daughter" shopping trip as soon as possible after Chi got out of the hospital. Chi's body was hers alone and he would respect that. He would even learn to tolerate the moods that surely would come with it.

As far as Chi's age, Hideki could only estimate it. As a persocom, she had appeared about sixteen years old when he had first reset her, a year and a half ago. He decided that she was in fact seventeen. It was the only logical answer. He sighed and then cleared his throat.

"Yes, Doctor. Could I go see her now?" he asked expectantly, glancing at the door to her room.

The doctor took a moment to write something down on his chart. He checked with a nurse that was coming out of Chi's hospital room. He nodded and answered.

"I see nothing wrong with that. She is still unconscious, but also is receiving fluids and the correct nutrition. She is on the right track, but we will not know for certain until she regains consciousness and starts eating on her own," he warned.

Hideki nodded and opened the door to Chi's hospital room. He left the door open and went straight to the hospital bed. He looked at Chi lying on the bed. She was smiling as if she was merely sleeping. The only things that made it obvious she was not were the two intravenous lines connected to each of her hands that led to two separate solution bags on each side of the bed. He was filled with love and worry over his love's condition. If he had understood the doctor correctly, she was not in critical condition, but anyone that came into the hospital in a coma was at least in serious condition. He pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat down to wait, clasping his hands around her left hand.

He was determined to stay by Chi's side until she woke up. Unfortunately, the hospital staff would not let him. The nurses made him leave the room each time one of them came to check on Chi or to exchange her solution bags for full ones. That happened about once every one to two hours. Every time they let him back in, he was back in the same position before the nurse could fully leave the room.

Several hours later, Chi had more visitors. True to Hideki's intuition, Kotoko and Sumomo had gone as quickly as possible to Ms. Hibiya's apartment down the hall, looking at each other in alarming confusion. Once they had got there, it had taken some teamwork to reach high enough to knock on the door. As it happened, Sumomo had ended up standing on Kotoko's shoulders in order for them to reach the height of the doorknob from which to knock. Chitose Hibiya had answered so quickly that Sumomo had not had time to climb off Kotoko and nearly fell forward when the door opened suddenly. Fortunately, the landlady had noticed and picked them both up before either of them could fall. She carried them over to her coffee table and then went to lock the door to Hideki's apartment and hers as well. When she got back, she sat on her couch and then let the laptops tell their story.

When they had finished—which took significantly longer than it would have if only one of them had spoken (they fought each other for the right to tell the best parts)—she was worried for Chi. She totally trusted Hideki to do what was best for Chi, but that did not mean she was not concerned for her daughter. Once Kotoko and Sumomo had calmed down, they decided to go see Chi and Hideki in the hospital the following morning. That was what they were doing now.

In the doorway, Chitose knocked lightly on the wall. It had not made much noise, but it was enough to wake Hideki from where he was sleeping in the chair next to Chi's bed. He had not known he had fallen asleep, but he was pleased that he was still clasping Chi's hand as he had been before. He looked in the direction of the noise that had awoken him. In the doorway stood Ms. Hibiya, staring intently at Chi with concern on her face. He stood up and nodded for Chitose to enter which she did quickly. Making sure no nurses were in sight, she opened up the messenger bag she had brought with her and out came Kotoko and Sumomo as energetically as possible. Sumomo took one look at Chi and stood still as ice, not sure what she should do. Kotoko immediately went into research mode.

"Hideki, how is she?" Chitose asked him suddenly.

Hideki turned to face Ms. Hibiya. Concern marked her face considerably. In truth, he did not know anything more than the doctor had told him last night. He quickly repeated the information the doctor had given him. The explanation aroused even greater concern on Chitose Hibiya's face. He sighed.

"She still has not changed since last night. It worries me. It seems that Chi does not want to admit that she is human," Hideki replied and sat down hurriedly, ready to start crying any minute.

Ms. Hibiya took her eyes off Chi for long enough to notice that Hideki had sat back down in the chair and now leaned over onto the bed almost as if he was praying, which he likely was. She kneeled down to suggest that Hideki go home to get some proper sleep and he adamantly refused to do so, saying that he wanted to be the first person Chi saw when she woke up. They ultimately reached a compromise. Chitose promised to call if there was any change in Chi's status and then Hideki went home with Sumomo in tow. He came back eight hours later and they established shifts, alternating every twelve hours.

Two days later, on Hideki's shift, Chi's left hand twitched in Hideki's hands. Hideki sat up, relieved, and kissed the top of her hand just above where the IV was connected. He looked up at Chi's face. Chi slowly opened her eyes and smiled back at Hideki. He was so relieved, he kissed her on the lips, and decided he never wanted to lose her again. She smiled again and returned the kiss.

"Chi?" Chi said weakly, turning her head to the darkened right corner in front of the bed.

A mysterious figure could barely be seen in the shadows of that same right corner.

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A/N: Well, there's Chapter 6, not quite as long as the previous chapter, but very close to it. As you can probably tell from the last line of this chapter, the next chapter is the beginning of the end of this fanfiction. I apologize to those that were hoping for a longer story, but there will only be 2-3 more chapters and then possibly a sequel (I haven't decided yet). Thank you for the reviews and I advise you to check and vote on my poll on my profile page (the reason for which will be clarified next chapter)! Keep the reviews coming please! Until next time, Kairi.


	7. A Kami's Mistake

A/N: Hello again, all! Kairi-san here again with an update to the story. I apologize for any OOCness. Rated T for later chapters.

Disclaimer: I do not own Chobits, CLAMP does. I also do not own my mystery character, you will find that out below. I only own the plotline and my original character, Doctor Makoto.

Without further ado, Chapter 7!

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Chapter 7: A Kami's Mistake

Curious, Hideki looked in the direction that Chi had turned. He sighed when all he saw was a darkened corner. Was Chi seeing things now? Glad that she had woken up, he called the doctor in to properly explain things to Chi. Perhaps now she would understand that she was fully human and the consequences that came with it. Neither of them knew if such a transformation was permanent, but it was best to enjoy it while it was an option.

The doctor came in fifteen minutes later and smiled. His mystery patient had regained consciousness! His career was saved! Now he had the opportunity to study her. Surely, a persocom turned human would raise his paycheck significantly. Not that he was poor by any means, but a raise was a raise and greatly appreciated if he got it.

Chi adjusted her bed's angle so that she gave the doctor her full attention. She still did not understand or remember how she got in this room, but she knew enough to know that it was a hospital room and that the man standing in front of the bed was the doctor. She hoped that the doctor could fill in the hole in her memory since she had fainted. She smiled and nodded.

Hideki looked at Chi. She looked almost anxiously at the doctor in front of her. It was obvious she knew what a doctor was. He would have to thank Sumomo and Kotoko for that. He wanted to see her better, but still not stress her with explanations before that could be accomplished.

The doctor cleared his throat and looked away from his patient to glance at Hideki. Since the man had given no indication otherwise, he began to address Chi.

"Hello, Miss Chi Motosuwa. I am the presiding physician, Doctor Makoto. How are you feeling?" the doctor inquired Chi.

Chi looked away from Doctor Makoto for a moment. She thought about it for a moment and then noticed her hands. What were these tubes doing coming out of her hands? Was the doctor running a diagnostic on her? All she knew was that the tubes were unnatural. She moved to remove them when Hideki stopped her. She frowned and then realized that they must be important if her "one and only" insisted she keep them in. She looked back at the doctor.

"Chi is confused. How did Chi get here? What has happened to Chi? Chi does not understand, but Chi feels weakened in some way," she answered.

The doctor nodded and wrote her report in short hand in her chart. He had expected that answer. He proceeded to answer her questions, Hideki filling in the holes where he did not know something. Chi nodded and asked to be alone with her partner. He promptly complied after checking that her intravenous lines were not kinked.

Chi sighed. When she had first wished to be human, she had not realized what that would entail. She had thought that she was only human on the outside and she had suffered for it. She thought about it for a moment and came to the conclusion that if she had the chance to live the last month over again, she would, at least where her nutrition was concerned. She had not thought that gradual transformation of her machinery into human organs was possible, but then again, simply looking human was extraordinary. No wonder this had happened. She turned toward Hideki with eyes full of love.

"Chi loves Hideki! Hideki really stayed with Chi the whole time?" she directed toward him.

Hideki blushed. He then realized his mistake. He had been so happy that she was awake that he had unconsciously lied to her. A little white lie, but it was still a lie. He would have to confess immediately or Chi would never forgive him. He grimaced then smiled.

"I love you too, Chi! No, unfortunately, I could not. The nurses would not let me and then Ms. Hibiya came by and we took shifts looking after you, I'm sorry for lying," Hideki replied.

Chi forgave him, of course. If Hideki had not been able to be with her twenty-four hours a day, then she was glad that Ms. Hibiya had been chosen to watch over her when he could not. She was her mother after all. Then Hideki mentioned the proposed shopping trip between them. She did not fully understand this menstrual cycle business that she was apparently going through this week, but she understood that she was now a human female and that most human females went through it at least three times a year, so she was normal in that aspect.

An hour later, a nurse came to disconnect her intravenous lines with strict guidelines not to starve herself again, knowingly or not. She did not know how she could avoid starving herself unknowingly, but she agreed anyway. Ten minutes later, another nurse came with a tray of food that was easily digestible but not as easily edible. It took her a few minutes to get used to using chopsticks, but, with Hideki's encouragement, she started eating slowly. The doctor had said that her digestive system would need time to get truly active again after so long being dormant, so she should not eat too fast, but still eat as much as she could handle. Once she was done, she smiled at Hideki. Hideki laughed and handed her a napkin, saying that she had tofu all over her mouth. She blushed, embarrassed, and wiped her face. This act of eating was a messy business, but she would do it for her love. She would do anything and everything for Hideki.

Five days later, Doctor Makoto declared her fit to leave the hospital and warned them both to come back if anything changed and to not overdo things. As far as he was concerned, her body was like a newborn baby's body, if several times bigger. She was twice as likely as someone else her age to break a bone or something worse. In other words, she was extremely fragile. The doctor was genuinely saddened to see her leave the hospital, but the only way to keep her there was to hold her hostage and he would not risk that.

A party was waiting when Chi finally made her homecoming. With Hideki's permission, Chitose Hibiya had organized it as a gift for Chi when she came home. Many of their friends were there, including Minoru—who had actually lent Hideki some of his custom persocom maids to clean the apartment for the occasion, Yuzuki, and Yumi (she had become much more courteous toward Chi since she had saved her life). Hiroyasu Ueda had even closed Chiroru for half a day to bake a homecoming cake for Chi. Needless to say, he made pastries better than he did cakes, but the result was still edible, even for Chi.

"Welcome home, Chi!" the party guests screamed when she entered the apartment.

Chi smiled. It was very thoughtful of them to come together to wish her a good homecoming. When she reached the center of the crowd, everyone tried to hug her at once until both Hideki and she explained how fragile she was. Most of them sighed, but moved into a single file line. She smiled again, awkwardly. Then the guests began their well-wishing.

"The customers and I all wish you a good homecoming," Mr. Ueda said as he hugged her affectionately like a daughter. "We want you back in tip-top shape as soon as possible."

Chi nodded, saying that she would likely be back at the shop on Monday, and hugged him back. He left to go cut his haphazard homecoming cake. Next was Minoru.

"Finish recovering quickly, Chi. You certainly are a marvel. I would love to study your new body sometime to see if I could somehow replicate it for Yuzuki. Welcome home," he said somewhat awkwardly, offering his hand for a handshake instead of a hug.

Chi thought about it. Hideki had overheard what Minoru had said and glared at him possessively. She agreed to Minoru's offer, suggesting that they wait a week to be certain if the change was permanent. Yuzuki blushed as her turn came.

"Welcome home, Chi," she said simply and hugged her as a persocom would.

Chi nodded and thanked her. When all the guests were done, she went running back into Hideki's arms and kissed him VERY affectionately. Someone turned on the stereo and the party got started, though all Chi cared about was being in Hideki's arms after so long being in a bed. Soon enough, the guests realized this and went home.

Unbeknownst to any of them, there was an uninvited guest to their party. He/she had appeared in a shadowed corner when it had become apparent that the party was coming to a close. When only Chi, Hideki, and the uninvited guest remained, the two lovers started cleaning up. Only when the cleaning was done did the mysterious figure reveal itself, a cherry blossom in hand.

"Hello, honored mortals Chi and Hideki Motosuwa," the figure said, handing Chi the cherry blossom as he/she had done before, a mortal month before.

Alarmed, both Chi and Hideki looked in the direction the greeting had come from. When the figure handed Chi the cherry blossom, they realized they were staring at the one who had caused it all. The figure appeared to be an old-fashioned teenage boy in a royal purple feudal-style yukata. What made him stand apart from most other boys was the heavenly glow around him. Both were confused.

"Please excuse Chi, sir, but who are you?" Chi asked perplexed, looking down at the blossom in her hand and back up at the strange boy with the glow.

The boy sighed, restrained. Were all the mortals of this age so ignorant? When he had chosen her for his experiment, he had not realized exactly who this woman he had changed was. He cleared his throat, a noise that was melodic-sounding to humans.

"I am none other than Musubi-No-Kami," the boy said matter-of-factly. He then aged himself to look more like an adult.

Hideki looked at the boy-no, god—wide-eyed. They must truly be honored to be his presence. He had never heard of another incident where a god had appeared to humans, at least that he could be sure was true. He knew from his Religion classes that this Musubi-No-Kami was the god of love and marriage in the Shinto religion of Japan. He was known to live in Kanzakura, the sacred cherry tree, in Kagami in the province of Mimasaka. What he was doing so far from his tree, Hideki did not know. For all he knew, the folklore was all wrong. Perhaps he did not live in the tree at all, but somewhere else. Hideki hoped the god would divulge that information. From what he knew about gods, they only told you what you needed to know if they spoke at all. He had always thought religion was one big delusion, but apparently he was wrong. Hideki bowed deeply and addressed the god.

"Musubi-No-Kami no Mikoto, what is it that we have done to deserve the honor of your presence?" he asked reverently.

The god smiled. At least the boy knew the proper respect that he deserved! He had not come from Takamagahara, the High Plain of Heaven, to be shown disrespect. Especially since he had gone against tradition and not entered the mortal plane at Kanzakura as he normally did every hundred years or so. Following her lover, the girl bowed just as reverently, but still did not understand why she had done it.

"Honored Hideki, Honored Chi, I have come to humble myself in your presence. I beseech you for I, as a god, have made a terrible mistake and tainted the power of Musubi by doing so," the god answered humbly. "I have come to ask your forgiveness."

Hideki's eyes went even wider. A god wanted THEIR forgiveness? He was certainly honored. He still did not understand just what exactly that mistake was, but he knew the basics. He looked at Chi. She was staring at the god in amazement. Perhaps he should have given her a lesson on Japanese religions a long time ago. She did not realize how disrespectful she was being. She cleared her throat.

"Musubi-No-Kami no Mikoto, Chi does not understand, but Chi forgives the Mikoto and offers Chi's thanks for the opportunity he has given Chi," she said as respectfully as she could without laying herself prostrate on the ground in front of him.

The god sighed again. At least this Chi learned quickly. He was glad that at least she was willing to forgive him. He looked expectantly at the mortal Hideki.

"Musubi-No-Kami no Mikoto, I forgive you as well, this last month has been challenging, but I would not change it for anything. I love Chi and would do anything for her," Hideki told the god.

The god smiled. He was the god of love and marriage after all. This pair was destined for great things, but the question was, would they do it as man and wife or man and persocom wife? He was about to give them that opportunity. He humbled himself even further.

"Honored mortals, I thank you for your forgiveness. In exchange, I offer you the chance to correct my Great Mistake," the kami offered. "I offer to use the power of Musubi, in its untainted form, to turn Chi back into a persocom or to turn her into the human she would be if I had not made my Mistake. Which will you choose?"

Hideki and Chi looked at each other, amazed. The god really had honored them. This decision could only be made once in a lifetime and would affect multiple generations into the future if Hideki understood correctly. This decision was not one to be made lightly. More time would be necessary to think about it.

Realizing the impact of his offer, the god bowed to them.

"I shall return in two days for my answer," the god announced and disappeared in a flash of bright light.

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A/N: Well, there's Chapter 7, effectively the reason for this entire fanfiction. Longer than the last chapter, but shorter than the one before that. What will they choose? That is what my poll is for. Thank you for the reviews and, hopefully, the forthcoming votes in my poll. Read and review please! By the way, in the Shinto religion, Musubi is the power of creation. Until next time, Kairi.


	8. Decisions

A/N: Hello again, all! Kairi-san here again with an update to the story. I apologize for any OOCness and for the wait. I felt it was more important to focus on my studies. Now that summer is here, I should update quicker. Also, I apologize to any readers who might be of the Shinto religion, I do not mean to make light of your gods. Rated T for this chapter especially (tell me if I have overdone it.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Chobits, CLAMP does. I also do not own Musubi-No-Kami; he belongs to Shinto religious mythology.

Without further ado, Chapter 8!

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Chapter 8: Decisions

After the god abruptly left, Chi and Hideki looked at each other in awe. Musubi-No-Kami wanted them to make such a decision? Such a decision was not one to be made lightly. To think on it sufficiently, it would take several weeks. They only had two days. They sighed in unison.

All of a sudden, a rustle was heard from the direction of the kitchen. Kotoko and Sumomo had left the living room about fifteen minutes ago to tend to something in the kitchen. What neither Chi nor Hideki knew. Suddenly, Chi turned her head toward the rustle that was heard. She put a hand on Hideki's shoulder to get his attention. What they saw caused their jaws to drop.

The mobile persocoms had entered the living room carrying a wrapped box that was easily four times their size over the tops of their heads. If the two machines had been capable of sweating, that was what they would have been doing so by the time they finally set the box down. They climbed on top of the box and beamed at Chi and Hideki.

"Happy Homecoming, Chi!" they both said at once, jumping up and down on the box.

Chi looked at the laptops in askance. What could be in the box? It must have been expensive to be in such a large box. She looked at Hideki and he nodded. She walked toward Kotoko, Sumomo, and box, intending to open it. She did not have to. Kotoko and Sumomo had been jumping on the box for a reason. They made one last big jump away from the box and it came open just as they cleared the table. Jaws dropped even lower.

An expression of surprise on her face, Chi moved closer to her "present." Unbeknownst to either Chi or Hideki, Sumomo and Kotoko had been collecting loose change when they cleaned the apartment in their alone time whilst the other two were out during the day ever since they had both been in Hideki's possession. Such change had allowed them to purchase Chi a homecoming present with Chitose's consent.

About a month earlier, Chitose had taken the laptops shopping. They had wanted, at the time, to prove their true worth to the duo. They had come to a persocom shop and smiled. They had urged the manager into the store. They came out fifteen minutes later with a basic female persocom with no memory. The computer was only a shell of what would become of "her." What eventually resulted was a virtual copy of Chi's sister, Freya, which was affectionately called "Freya II." All Chi had to do was turn her on and she would have her sister back, complete with her memories thanks to a software update on Chi several months before, albeit not exactly a Chobit.

Chi got a closer look and frowned. She could tell that this was merely a copy of her sister. She could not accept this present, even if it meant losing her sister entirely. She appreciated the thought, though. She opened her mouth to say so, but Hideki cut her off, as if reading her mind.

"Kotoko, Sumomo, as much as we appreciate the thought, we cannot accept this present you have given Chi. I never knew Freya all that well, since I only got to speak to her through Chi for about five minutes, but it would be an insult to her memory to have her live on in a copy. We're sorry," Hideki told the laptops.

Chi nodded in agreement. The laptops frowned briefly and nodded. Sumomo looked away from the couple. It had been her idea originally to recreate Freya. She had felt, at the time, that Chi's longing was for her lost sister, not to be human. She knew better now. As much as doctors could not bring back a long-dead person to life, a persocom such as Freya could not be brought back entirely as she was before. It had been stupid of her to think otherwise.

"Sumomo is sorry. It was my idea. I did not know what your longing was for all those months before. I assumed it was for Freya," Sumomo apologized once she got a hold of herself.

Chi blinked. The idea was thoughtful, if misconstrued. She sighed.

"Sumomo is forgiven. Chi realizes Chi was a bit confusing at that time," Chi replied to Sumomo.

Sumomo smiled. Her infraction was forgiven! She jumped up in glee. Kotoko looked at her with her "You are crazy" face. Sumomo smirked back at her. Someday, Kotoko would learn to respect her. She was not crazy, she was just programmed differently. The serious mobile persocom should have realized that by now.

She looked at Kotoko with an idea on her face. In an effort to avoid confrontation, Kotoko nodded back at her. Sumomo turned back to the couple, smiling.

"Is there anything Sumomo and/or Kotoko"—Kotoko glared at her, menacingly—"can do to prove our worth to you both?" Sumomo asked as seriously as she was capable of.

Chi and Hideki looked at each other, surprised. Sumomo was not known for her seriousness, but here she was being serious. They both thought about it for a bit and then it came to them. The laptops just might be able to help them with their dilemma of Chi staying human or not.

"Sumomo and Kotoko do not need to prove Sumomo and Kotoko's worth to Chi and Hideki. Sumomo and Kotoko have stayed with Chi and Hideki through it all, that is enough," Chi answered.

The laptops smiled in relief and then looked to Hideki. Surely Chi's comment was not the end of it. Logic told them that there must be more to the story. They were not wrong.

Hideki cleared his throat. "We do need your help, however."

"Anything!" Sumomo and Kotoko said at once.

Chi and Hideki proceeded to tell them of their encounter with Musubi-No-Kami. Recounting the event of just fifteen minutes earlier made it seem like a lifetime ago. It was a once in a lifetime decision that could not be made lightly. Sumomo and Kotoko were not the only ones they would ask for advice. Advice or not, it was still their decision, they knew, but it would help to have other opinions as to the situation.

Hearing her masters' dilemma left Sumomo shell-shocked. This "god" had asked them to decide Chi's fate? It seemed too good to be true. It was not in her programming to believe in such mythology. She would give her advice, nonetheless.

Kotoko was in a similar mess. She felt that such a decision was not for computers to decide. Humans should make decisions about humans, not persocoms, no matter how small they were. She appreciated that Chi and Hideki would honor them this way. She was a research model, not made to give advice, but she would try.

"So what do you two think?" Hideki asked the lingering question.

Both laptops smiled. Sumomo went first. Kotoko moved out of her way to give her the floor to speak.

"Master Hideki and Chi, Sumomo does not know what to say. It is ultimately your decision to make. If I may, though, suggest that you act from the heart as well as your minds. This decision will affect everything you do from this day forward. Chi should be human, in my opinion. She was very much human when she was a persocom, anyway," the purple persocom advised.

Chi smiled and nodded. She liked that advice. This whole thing was a dream come true. She turned back to the table as Kotoko began speaking.

Kotoko smirked at Sumomo. She would give that sort of advice, of course. She did not have the research capabilities of Kotoko. She smiled.

"Chi, unlike my crazy friend here, Kotoko does not give the same advice. What Sumomo is incapable of realizing is the full extent following her advice would entail. Chi, you were not born human; you do not know what being human means. Neither do we, but that is irrelevant. You know how to eat, but that's about all. What about doing laundry or taking a shower? No. Do you know anything about what happens between a man and a woman who love each other or how to prevent the possible consequences of such an action? I do not know, but"—Chi's eyes widened—"I do not think so. You were created as a persocom and should stay that way," Kotoko replied to wide eyes all around.

Hideki blushed at Kotoko's words. Of course, her research would reveal that "action." That was not something he wanted to approach with Chi when they had other things to worry right now. After their decision was made was the time he wanted to explain such a thing to Chi. The decision determined whether or not they even could participate in that event, anyway.

Chi looked at Hideki in expectation. What was the "action" Kotoko had spoken of? Was it anything like the kissing and cuddling they had done before? She hoped to find out soon.

"Chi thanks Kotoko and Sumomo for the advice. It will be remembered," Chi said and then looked expectantly at Hideki. "Hideki, what is this 'action' that Kotoko spoke of? Could Chi try it with Hideki? Please?"

Hideki blushed even deeper. Of course, Chi would remember that snippet from Kotoko's speech. She had no idea what it even was, but she wanted to try it! It was preposterous for Hideki to comprehend why.

"Chi, I do not think that's a good idea right now. We'll talk about it after Musubi-No-Kami comes back, okay?" Hideki acquiesced.

Chi frowned, confused. What did the Shinto god of love and marriage have to do with this 'action'? Did Musubi-No-Kami have to approve first? If it was necessary, she would ask him for permission after they made their decision.

"Chi does not understand why, but Chi will wait," Chi replied, disappointment clear on her face.

Hideki hated to disappoint Chi, but it was for the best. He did not know would happen if they did try it. What if their coupling gave fruit and then she decided to remain a persocom? What would happen to the newly-made child? Would it die along with the option of Chi being human? Not that he would fail to use a condom, but even condoms failed once in a while. He hated abortion, no matter how it happened.

Suddenly, Chi distracted him with a kiss. He returned the kiss as deeply as possible. Soon after, they were making out. So Chi was trying to catch him off guard, was she? Or did she simply not want to be patient? He smiled in perverted glee. He started to lead her toward the bedroom when they were interrupted by the two mobile persocoms who were clearing their throats, exaggeratingly.

Realizing what Chi was trying to do, Hideki abruptly parted from her. With her new body apparently came the ability to seduce him completely. These next two days would be hard to endure while they made the decision of a lifetime.

Gesturing to Chi that she should go get ready for bed, he practically ran into the shower. Cold water hit him suddenly as he thought about the situation he was currently in. This impatience was not like Chi. One minute she was complacent to wait for sex, the next she was trying to hurry it! Yet, she did not even know what it was! Thinking about it for a moment, he realized it was probably her new-found hormones talking. Apparently, Chitose Hibiya had not explained the hormones involved with Chi's new menstrual cycle, or at least the effects of an overload of them. Trying to talk with Chi himself about such hormones was taboo to him. Estrogen and progesterone were mainly female hormones, for goodness sake! Only another woman could explain it properly.

Shivering and slightly out of his aroused state, Hideki put on his pajamas hurriedly. Grimacing at the fact that his showers would have to be cold for now on, he went to the bedroom to face Chi yet again. It turned out that he did not have to. Chi must have been tired for she was fast asleep before Hideki could join her in the bed. Sighing in relief, he snuggled up next to Chi and went to sleep himself.

Two days and countless cold showers later, it was finally the day of the decision. They had spent the last two days, visiting with their friends to ask for their advice. So far, the tally was up for Chi to stay a persocom. As far as Chi was concerned, that tally was not in her favor. Too many people had agreed with what Kotoko had said. Only Ms. Hibiya and Mr. Ueda seemed to agree with her. Ultimately it was her body and her choice to do what she wanted to do with it. Only one person had yet to say anything about it, Hideki.

Hideki had failed to say anything about the decision they had to make in a few hours because he did not what to offend Chi if what he suggested she did not like. He supposed that they would have to talk about it, though. Kotoko and Sumomo were content to sit on their usual table to act as chaperones, as Hideki led Chi to the futon in the living room. The time had come for their talk. Chi started it when both of them had sat down facing each other.

"Hideki, as Chi's one and only, what does Hideki have to say about the decision that needs to be made?" Chi asked him.

Hideki sighed. Leave it to Chi to get right to the point of the matter. He could not procrastinate any longer.

"Chi, I love you and will continue loving you no matter what form you take, human or persocom. I met you as a persocom and fell in love with you as a persocom"—Chi frowned—"but that does not matter to me. Your body is yours alone. This decision is yours alone to make. Our friends and I, now, have given you our advice. The advice is yours to do with as you see fit," he answered.

Chi nodded. "But what is Hideki's advice to Chi?"

He sighed again. Apparently, she needed it outright. He could not imply it.

"Chi, it does not matter to me. If it was my decision to make, I would choose to remain as you are now. Miracles do not come very often. We need to seize them when we have the chance."

Chi nodded once again. "Musubi-No-Kami said that Chi being made a human was a mistake, though. Hideki would consent to live with such a mistake?"

"Chi, no matter what the Mikoto said, you were never a mistake. While neither of us expected the outcome of this last month to be to be quite so drastic, you have to admit that this experience has been enlightening. Would you have ever known what it was like to be human if Musubi-No-Kami had not made that decision for you? He may be a god, but he is not perfect. There is only one God that is, supposedly."

Chi sighed in relief. While she did not really want to believe it, she was not perfect, even when she had been a persocom. She smiled and kissed him heartily. Thankfully, Kotoko and Sumomo were there to prevent anything more from happening. They were watching for the tell-tale signs of more about to happen. The second one of them spotted either Hideki or Chi trying to make a move in that direction, they sent Hideki to take a cold shower. By the time the time came for Musubi-No-Kami to come back, Hideki thought he would turn into a frozen prune.

They had been waiting for an hour after the chosen time when they heard a knock at the door. Confused, Chi and Hideki sprang for the door. Using the front door, was he? That was unusual for one such as him. A god that could simply appear before them chose the door instead? Musubi-No-Kami would have some explaining to do if it was in fact him.

Opening the door cautiously, they bowed instantly when the door opened. After Hideki had bowed, he realized that they had been bowing at nothing. They had opened the door to no one but the sound of knocking. He frowned. Where was Musubi-No-Kami?

It turned out that they did not need to look far. They heard the sound of a throat clearing from behind them and immediately turned around. While they were distracted by the door, the god had appeared behind them. Surprised, they bowed hastily.

"Arise, my children," the god said when he had had enough of their pleasantries.

As if an unseen force had controlled them, Chi and Hideki stood up just as suddenly as they had bowed. Looking at the god reverently, Hideki noticed that he was dressed in modern clothing, though it was still royal purple. Royal purple must have been the color that the god had been assigned many millennia ago. He looked the same age as he had left them.

Musubi-No-Kami smiled. He was glad that they had showed him respect before anything else. He had been watching them from his home in the skies these last two days. He was glad they had taken the wisdom of their friends over their own selfish desires. At least, he hoped that was so. Mortals did have free will, after all.

He cleared his throat once again and turned to face the mortals in question. "I have given both of you, Honored Mortals Chi and Hideki, ample time to think on the matter at hand. What shall it be? Human in the likeness of the persocom or persocom as Chi was before?" he asked seriously.

Hideki looked at Chi and nodded. The time of the decision had come. Chi opened her mouth to speak…

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A/N: There you go, Chapter 8! I realize that most of you were hoping that the decision would be made this chapter, but I figured that it was better to leave it at a cliffhanger. Besides, **I NEED MORE VOTES ON MY POLL BEFORE THAT DECISION CAN BE MADE!** _(hint, hint)_ Until next time, Kairi.


	9. To Be or Not To Be

A/N: Hello again, all! Kairi-san here again with an update to the story. I apologize for any OOCness and for the wait. I have been waiting for votes on my poll. Also, I apologize to any readers who might be of the Shinto religion, I do not mean to make light of your gods. Rated T.

Disclaimer: I do not own Chobits, CLAMP does. I also do not own Musubi-No-Kami; he belongs to Shinto religious mythology, I am merely borrowing him for my story.

Without further ado, Chapter 9!

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Chapter 9: To Be or Not To Be

Musubi-No-Kami looked at Chi, expectantly. She had opened her mouth to speak, but nothing was coming out but air. Had they planned it that way? He, as well as all other gods in the sky, no matter what religion they hailed from, did not like being tricked. He hoped that was not the case with these mortals he had chosen to honor with his presence. The wrath of a god was not something mortals wanted to deal with.

Hideki stared at Chi, surprised. His love had the chance to make her dreams come true, yet she was mysteriously silent? He would have to ask her and hope that the Shinto god would forgive his slight disrespectful behavior.

"Chi, are you okay?" Hideki asked quickly before turning back to the god.

Chi nodded. "Chi is fine. Chi is sorry."—she turned back to the god in all seriousness—"Musubi-No-Kami no Mikoto, Chi has one last question for Musubi-No-Kami before Chi makes Chi's decision, if Chi may?" Chi asked the god.

Musubi-No-Kami nodded. If Chi Motosuwa wanted to ask a question of him, he would allow it. It was best that all options were considered when making a decision of this magnitude. Hasty decisions were bad decisions, after all.

"Please do, Honored Chi. I will answer if it is in my power to do so," the god replied.

Chi paled at the words "if it is in my power to do so." What if her question was not one that Musubi-No-Kami could answer? What would happen then? Would she stay as she was? As much as her new black hair was beautiful, it was not her. She had been created with ivory hair and she liked it that way. She did not like the way she looked now and no amount of expensive plastic surgery would change that. Perfection did have its down side, after all. The outside did not correlate with the inside of Chi's heart. She would feel ashamed if she remained looking like she was if she chose to remain a human. She was not perfect, after all.

Hideki glanced at Chi perplexed. What could Chi possibly want to know that had not already been answered? She had a decision to make that they had thought long and hard about these last two days. What could make her hesitate now? She had the chance to make all her dreams come true, what was stopping her from taking the chance? She had been given the option to stay a human for goodness sake! What was holding her back? It was obvious she wanted to be forever human. He would love her no matter what, but it was her decision and he would respect that decision. He obviously wanted to take that fateful plunge with her, but he would sacrifice that if she chose to remain a persocom.

Chi cleared her throat to voice her question. It was now or never. The decision would not make itself up.

"Musubi-No-Kami, what exactly was this Great Mistake? Was Chi never supposed to be human?" Chi asked, realizing that she had actually asked two questions instead of one.

The god sighed. He respectfully ignored that she had in fact asked two questions and chose to answer both of them. He looked from Chi to Hideki and back again.

"Chi Motosuwa, I understand your concern. I humbly remind you that the option was 'human in the likeness of the persocom', meaning that you would look as you did as a persocom, but you would be human. My mistake was changing your looks. You were never supposed to look as you do now," the god began.

Hideki raised his eyebrows in alarm. Did the god mean what he thought he meant? Did his mistake of changing her looks cause the further complications leading to Chi being hospitalized? He would have to ask.

Chi nodded and was content with his answer. His mistake was not her being human in the first place. She was glad for that. It made her decision much easier to make. She opened her mouth to finally make the decision when Hideki stopped her with a glance in her direction. Apparently, he had something to say before she voiced her decision.

"Musubi-No-Kami no Mikoto, if I may? I also have a few questions for you," Hideki said, curiously.

The god nodded. "Go ahead and ask, Hideki."

Hideki stood up straighter suddenly and looked at Musubi-No-Kami in all seriousness. The answer to his questions could make it or break it for Chi's once-in-a-lifetime decision. He hoped so, anyway.

"Honored Immortal Musubi-No-Kami, did you mean what I thought you meant? Would Chi not have had to be hospitalized if you had just kept her looks the same as before?" he asked.

The god sighed yet again. Leave it to a mortal such as Hideki to get straight to the point of the matter. He would have to answer.

"Honored Hideki, I regret to inform you both that I do not necessarily know that for certain. It is quite possible that hospitalization would not have been necessary if I had not been focused on another girl at the time. You see, it all started with another girl, many centuries ago…" he replied. "At the time, the Shinto religion, which I am a deity of, was much more practiced in Japan than it is now. It happened during one of my planned indwellings of my Great Cherry Tree shrine. There was a young Japanese maiden that did not want an arranged marriage. She just then had turned a marriageable age and her father wanted her to make a good match. After she had turned down many excellent men, at least in her father's eyes, she had finally convinced her father to let her marry for love, if indeed she found such a man. Once she had reached such an agreement with her father, she went to my shrine daily for two weeks to pray to me for such an opportunity to love a great man. After a few days of such prayers, I decided to grace her with an appearance in my usual form, much like I did you, only I was not so straightforward with this maiden. You see, I graced her with my appearance from afar. I stood just far enough away from the maiden for her to see my form, but not recognize me for who I was, as is the norm for the gods and goddesses of the Shinto. I stayed just long enough for her to register me in her memory. Little did I know at the time, that she had fallen instantly in love with me? She thought I was a mortal like herself. She went home and told her father, who told her that if she could catch the man and persuade him to come home with her to meet him she could marry him with full blessings from him. Delighted, she kept coming to my shrine daily, praying that her "love" would return to her so that she could marry him. At the end of the two-week period, I returned to her once again, only this time I gave her a cherry blossom for her faithfulness. She then recognized me for who I was, Musubi-No-Kami, a Shinto god. Ashamed that she had fallen in love with a god, she became one of my best nuns in all my millennia."—he came back to the present—"Chi, Hideki, the act of using Musubi in the way I did to Chi had never been done before. I encased the power needed in the cherry blossom I gave Chi one month ago whilst the both of you were sleeping. I did not know at the time that the cherry blossom had affected the power of Musubi held within it. Chi, the act of my giving you the cherry blossom in such a way, associated you with that long-ago maiden. Originally, I had planned to keep you as you were as a human, but my late-night action affected it all. If I had not given the cherry blossom to you directly, you would have been human with the complete looks of the persocom. The power was just enough to do that, but when it associated you with the maiden, it was no longer enough to turn you completely human. The power within had to let nature take its course inside you which led you to being hospitalized. I am sorry for that." He sighed again; delighted that he was done with his story.

Hideki's jaw dropped in surprise. When he had asked the question, he had not imagined such a long answer. Of course, he recognized the god's story as a folktale he had learned in school as a boy before he became skeptical of all religions. Hearing Musubi-No-Kami tell it meant it was true. Did that mean that all supposed folktales were in fact true stories in some fashion? He wanted to ask but knew that now was not the time to ask. The truthfulness of folktales did not affect the decision at hand. He looked at Chi with love. His eyes told her that the time had finally come to make her decision.

Chi nodded at Hideki, agreeing with him fully. The time for procrastination had passed. It was decision time. Any further questions that needed to be asked could be asked after the decision was made. She cleared her throat and faced Musubi-No-Kami.

"Chi is ready to make Chi's decision," she declared, matter-of-factly.

Musubi-No-Kami nodded. "What shall it be then, Miss Chi Motosuwa?"

Chi cleared her throat, again. "Chi realizes that she was made a persocom. A special persocom, certainly, but still a man-made persocom that had no chance of being human. Chi was built, not created between a man and woman as is the way for humans like Chi's love, Hideki, to be made, but in Chi's eyes that is the same thing. Humans love each other to create children of that love. Love between a human and a persocom or between two persocoms does not have that opportunity to create a new being of that love. While Chi does not know exactly how that happens, Chi wants that capability. To be permanently human would give Chi that ability. Chi loves Hideki and Hideki loves Chi no matter what form Chi takes, but it is Chi's dream to be the same as Hideki in that special way," she answered. "Chi has decided to remain human as Chi should be."

Hideki smiled. He approved of Chi's decision quite perversely. Their love for each other could be acted upon fully. Of course, he realized he would have to explain it to Chi before hand, but once she knew about it, he was sure that she would agree to it. He looked at Chi again, lovingly.

The god smiled. He saw even greater things happening to them now. Now he had to make the power held within Chi's cherry blossom work again in his favor. He would reverse and remedy the problem at hand. He realized that it might take a while to fully work, but it was Chi's decision to be human as she should be. He would comply. He nodded and spoke again.

"Honored Chi, thank you for your wise decision. You shall get your wish. Please come embrace me so that I might make your wish come true," Musubi-No-Kami replied to glares from Hideki. He looked at Hideki reassuringly. "Not to worry, Honored Hideki, no harm will come to your beloved Chi whilst in my embrace. It will merely make the process easier. My intentions are pure."

Hideki nodded and urged Chi forward. Chi smiled and went to embrace the god shakily. She gave the god a big hug as a bright light encased them. Hideki looked at the light in alarm. He waited a few minutes to find that light was still there where Chi and Musubi-No-Kami were supposed to be. He tried to find some reassurance in that fact, but he could find none. He continued to stare at the light, worried out of his senses.

Meanwhile, Chi and Musubi-No-Kami were in a place between the earthly realm and the divine realm, still in their friendly embrace. Musubi-No-Kami had brought her there to be sure that there was no outside interference with what he had to do. Neither good nor evil could exist in this limbo of places very long, even a god. Roman Catholics ignorantly called it purgatory. While it was a place between Heaven and Hell, the deceased had been judged before they went there temporarily. This limbo heightened the powers of the gods who happened to come there. Living beings only came there with the assistance of a god or gods, for they would die within five seconds of arriving if even they could get there in the first place, hence the mistaken name of Purgatory. That was why Musubi-No-Kami had not parted from Chi while they were there.

Musubi-No-Kami put a hand between their bodies to separate them slightly, being sure that they still touched. He needed some space to work his magic, so to speak. Reaching to Chi's hair, he removed the cherry blossom from where she had put it one month before. Alarmed, Chi looked up at the god, questioningly. He nodded and spoke.

"Do not worry, Honored Chi. All will be well, shortly. I merely need the blossom to reverse its power held within," Musubi-No-Kami reassured her.

Chi nodded and looked around her. She gasped at what she saw. They were in place filled with white light and nothing else, literally. Her logic told her that such a place could not exist within Earthly terms. She reminded herself that she was in the hands of a god, which her logic had also told her could not exist either, yet he did. She sighed and looked back up at him.

"Chi! Please do what Musubi-No-Kami must. Chi wants to be human!" Chi replied.

Nodding, Musubi-No-Kami did his thing, knowing full well that he had a short time frame in which to do it. He glanced at the cherry blossom in his hand and placed it against Chi's heart, whilst at the same time, he returned to their friendly embrace. Musubi would work better placed against the heart, anyway. In order to control it fully, the god and the mortal had to both be touching the medium of the power in almost the same place on their bodies which they were currently doing. Concentrating on what he had to do, he went into a trancelike state of mind, being sure to have just enough control over his body to keep a firm hold on Chi, lest she die here. Those that died in Limbo simply disappeared forever, as no eternal judgment could take place here.

Smiling, Chi looked at the god's face, noticing that he was in a trancelike state. Worry etched into her face as she realized what was happening, or at least it did before she realized that Musubi-No-Kami would not let anything happen to her here, no matter his state of mind. She lost all sense of logic as a state of euphoria overwhelmed her. She would be human when she returned to Hideki! She could not wait! She would experience life as Hideki did! She would age as Hideki did! As much as she hated Hideki getting old with age and dying, she realized she would now experience it with him! They would enter and spend the afterlife together as well as this current lifetime! She smiled as Musubi took over her body.

Entering into a trancelike state herself, Chi unconsciously noticed the changes coming upon her. The power of Musubi cocooned her in an artificial womb of energy and light where only she existed, or so she thought. In reality, Musubi had transformed Musubi-No-Kami into his true divine self, who enveloped Chi in his divine light. Unconsciously, Chi and Musubi-No-Kami floated upward to the edge of Limbo and the divine realm as the god's light and the power of Musubi made their permanent changes to Chi. Perfection changed into rightness as Chi soared beyond euphoria into a state of unexplainable bliss. Hastily made bones, muscles, and organs became their natural selves as Musubi did its natural work. Bodily systems were brought to their correct places and functions as Chi remained in her Musubi-induced trance. What seemed like a lifetime later but was actually about fifteen minutes later, both Chi and Musubi-No-Kami returned to their previous states, both illogically exhausted, but looking like they should be.

Musubi-No-Kami looked down at Chi, smiling. Musubi had finally done what it was supposed to! What had been black hair only moments before now was ivory hair as it should be on Chi. The maiden's olive-tinted skin had been reversed to Chi's natural creamy peach. Her face now looked as natural on Chi as it had been when Chi was a persocom. Chi's natural curves were no longer displaced, but looked natural. She was now "human in the likeness of the persocom" in all sense of the phrase.

Chi glanced at what she could see of herself within the god's embrace and smiled. Her wish had been fulfilled! She beamed up at the god.

"Musubi-No-Kami, Chi thanks the Mikoto very much!" Chi exclaimed without much thought.

The god nodded and smiled back. "Honored Chi, I thank _you _for allowing me the privilege. Let us go back to Hideki now so that he will no longer worry for you," he replied.

Chi nodded and they both disappeared in the blink of an eye. What had been merely bright light only moments before, instantly transformed back into Chi and Musubi-No-Kami once again. Hideki's jaw dropped in both surprise and relief as he watched this happen.

Once Chi realized she was back where she was meant to be, she left Musubi-No-Kami's embrace and bowed to him respectfully. She went to Hideki, seeing that his face was filled with shock. She was now confused. Was Hideki disappointed in her choice to be human?

"Chi? Hideki does not like the new Chi?" she asked, moving into his embrace.

Hideki enfolded his newly-human love, Chi, in his arms lovingly. He smiled down at her and looked her directly in the eyes. That she could now be human mystified him, but he realized that nothing was impossible for them now. Their legacy would not end with them. He respected Chi's decision and was determined that they both enjoy it.

"Chi, I love you and will continue loving you until the end of time. Just because you are now forever human does not change that," he answered her, kissing her.

Realizing that the two lovebirds had forgotten he was there, Musubi-No-Kami cleared his throat, startling them apart. Chi blushed as they turned back to the god. The god sighed, content with his work.

"If neither of you have any more questions for me, I will now make my leave," the god declared.

Chi and Hideki stared at each other in agreement. They did not have any other questions for Musubi-No-Kami that they could not answer themselves with experience. They would take life as it happened, good or bad.

"No, we do not, thank you, Musubi-No-Kami no Mikoto," Hideki answered hastily, eager to get back to kissing Chi.

Nodding, the god vanished, never to be seen again by the two of them, or at least they hoped so. Chi looked up slightly at Hideki with an idea on her face. She blushed as she voiced her idea.

"Hideki? Can Hideki tell Chi what the "action" is now?" Chi asked provocatively.

Hideki's face reddened with a large blush. He had accidently forgotten about that promise to Chi. It was time to fulfill that promise to Chi.

Blushing, Hideki answered, "How about I just show you? You will like it, I'm sure!"

At that declaration, Hideki swept Chi off her feet and carried her toward their bedroom and closed the door. Their love was one that could happen only once in a lifetime…

The End

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A/N: There you go, Chapter 9, the conclusion to the story! I hope you liked it! Reviews are greatly appreciated! Especially since this story is the first I've finished on FF! Please watch for a new poll on my profile. Until my next fanfiction, Kairi.


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